Chip Moore is the proprietor of three Roanoke area restaurants. His first, the Brambleton Deli, is the one with real “regulars,” who come in every day. His second, Annie Moore’s, has the occasional regular – two to three times a week. His third, The Quarter on the downtown market, is just getting known around town. Moore opened Annie Moore’s about four and one-half years ago, the Brambleton Deli in ’93, and the Quarter just this year. Moore’s success in the restaurant business is attributed, he said, to putting on the menu what he, as a customer, would like, and charging what he would want to pay. “I often say one of the reasons I managed to pull it off is doing it from a customer’s point of view,” he explained.

But Moore is not, by inheritance nor training, a restaurateur. He was, in fact, a mechanical designer at ITT when layoffs seemed imminent. He asked a friend to join him in looking into restaurant space, anticipating that he would experience a job loss. The friend did lose his job, Moore didn’t, and by the time Moore wanted to make a move on restaurant space, his friend had relocated – for another job. But the germ of the idea was planted, and thus the Deli was born.

He does his research for businesses using the Internet, and to outfit Annie Moore’s, he used that vehicle as well, but recalled driving all over the Virginia countryside to haunt antique shops for the Deli. Perhaps another factor in the success equation is that he taps family to work for him – two stepsons are at the Deli, as is his daughter and a brother; another brother, Greg, is Annie Moore’s chef, where his sister and nephew work as well.  But success has also followed in his hard-working wake:  He used to put in 18-hour days; now, maybe six hours a day, but his constant companion is his smart phone, where he stays connected to business matters big and small.

Annie Moore’s Irish Pub

Annie Moore is not a relative of Chip’s – at least, not in the researched lineage of Moore’s family. Moore had all intentions of going to New York to taste and test Irish pubs in the big city, but in the primary round of Internet research he found out that Annie Moore was the first registered immigrant to pass through Ellis Island. The name fit, and the building and business began. That was four and one-half years ago, and the Irish Pub’s reputation has grown in this area. Regulars and friends line up elbow to elbow along the U-shaped bar, an intentional design because Moore wanted conviviality, not his clients being restricted to talking to just the people on their right and left. The windows are very Irish and green, as is the green of the walls and the dark wood trim around the restaurant. It’s a place to sigh, drop into a seat, order a Smithwicks (pronounced Smiticks), and let go of the week’s troubles. It’s a place where comfort food has cornered the market, and where Irish-sounding bands such as Scruffy Murphy play once a month. It’s a place that’s soft with laughter and fellowship, full of twinkling promises, and ripe with great food.

The food favorites are aplenty – especially the Guinness beef stew, the fish and chips (beer-battered cod), the shepherd’s pie and the corned beef and cabbage. I never thought too much of cabbage, attributing it to my Irish dad’s fond memories that were legendary around our dining room table and therefore dismissible. Not so this cabbage, as beautifully sautéed and slightly piquant as a work of art. And the shepherd’s pie, usually the leftover dish on a Monday night, is worth ordering just because … well, because it’s herbed and delicious and fragrant and satisfying. Especially with a good beer, of which there is a multitude at Annie Moore’s.

But consider the restaurant’s specialty drinks, such as the Irish martini (Irish whiskey, sour apple liqueur, melon liqueur and fruit juices) or the Snake Bite (Guinness layered over Original Sin hard cider). One or two of those and you’ll be dancing a jig.

Annie Moore’s is not a frou-frou place. The prices reflect this – happy hour is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and drinks run from $4.95 (the Cosmopolitan and Irish Martini) to $2 for a draft. Imported beers range from $4.75 to $6.50 (for .5 liter), and the single malt Scotch selection of 10 types – up to the 15-year old Balvenie single barrel – is absolutely special.

Moore explained that the premise behind his first restaurant, the Brambleton Deli, was to offer good food, good beer and good prices. It stuck, and it’s not a formula he is anxious to get rid of. For instance, he claims to have the best peel-and-eat shrimp deal in town, at $9.99 for one pound.

And to add to the atmosphere, Moore has strategically placed three wide-screen televisions around the restaurant so fans can drink and yell and moan and order another drop of the old medicine to soothe his tortured soul.

If you would like to do the same, Annie Moore’s is located at 3555 Electric Road, and is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, for conversation, discussion, and good food. See Anniemoorespub.com.

Recipe

Guinness Beef Stew

1/4 cup chopped garlic

4 sticks celery, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

2 small white onions, chopped

4-5 potatoes, cubed

5 lbs stew beef in 1” cubes

1/2 lb roux

12 oz. tomato juice

8 oz. Guinness

64 oz beef base

salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme

In a large pot brown the beef in vegetable oil, and soften garlic, onion and celery near the end of browning. Add the beef base, Guinness, tomato juice, carrots and potatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add roux, bring to a boil to thicken, add seasonings to taste and simmer for at least 60 minutes.